The manat, denoted by the ISO code TMM, is the official currency of Turkmenistan. The manat was implemented on November 1, 1993. It is further divided into 100 tenge. All manat notes display a picture of President Saparmurat Niyazov. The name of the currency is borrowed from the Russian word "moneta," which means, "coin."
| Moody's Rating |
| B2 |
| S&P Rating |
| N/A |
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Political Structure
The government of Turkmenistan is divided into three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. However, the government is a republic with authoritarian presidential rule and therefore, very little power outside the executive branch. The President is elected by popular vote for a five-year term. The legislative branch consists of two parliamentary bodies. One is a unicameral People's Council, which is a supreme legislative body with up to 2,500 delegates. The second is a unicameral Parliament with 50 seats whose members are elected by popular vote for five-year terms. Within the judicial branch is the Supreme Court whose judges are appointed by the President. Lastly, there is also a Council of Elders, which was formed to keep the Turkmen tradition of regarding the advice of senior members of society with importance. The President must consult with this Council prior to making decisions on both domestic and foreign matters.
Prominent Figures
Chief of State: President Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov
Head of Government: President Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov
Governor of Central Bank of Turkmenistan: Djuma Annaorazov, since 2005
Key Economic Factors
Overview: The majority of Turkmenistan is a desert country with an intensive agriculture industry and vast gas and oil resources. About half of Turkmenistan's irrigated land is used for cotton. Before recent poor harvests, which have caused about a 46% drop in cotton exports, Turkmenistan used to be the world's tenth-largest cotton producer. Turkmenistan is taking careful steps towards economic reform because it has an authoritarian ex-Communist regime in power and a tribally based social structure. It hopes to promote gas and cotton sales in order to maintain its economy, which has been inefficient one. Turkmenistan's economy was hurt because its export routes for natural gas were poor and severe short-term external debt. Future prospects are bleak because of large domestic poverty, high foreign debt, the government's absurd use of oil and gas revenues, and its reluctance to accept market-oriented reforms.
Note: Turkmenistan's economic statistics are state secrets; therefore, its GDP and other data are subject to wide margins of error.
Industries: Natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, and food processing.
Agriculture Products: Cotton, grain, and livestock.
Major Trading Partners: Ukraine, Russia, Iran, U.S., UAE, and Turkey.
Import Commodities: Machinery and equipment, chemicals, and foodstuffs.
Export Commodities: Gas, crude oil, petrochemicals, cotton fiber, and textiles.
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